August 25, 2023

In 2022, Kikkoman held a photo contest under the theme “Together We Cook, Together One Pot” featuring families enjoying hot pot meals together in Thailand. Then, in March 2023, an awards ceremony announced the winners.

“Nabe,” Japanese hot pot, is an easy Japanese dish which can involve every member of the family in cooking, especially fathers and children. For this contest, participants submitted family photos of cooking and sharing a Nabe together. The contest theme “Together We Cook” conveys that Kikkoman brings joy to family dining tables through preparation of delicious meals, and “Together One Pot” reflects the concept of this special one-pot dish experience creating one of the most common but also happy memories with family members.

In line with the concept, the judges evaluated photo submissions based on the heartwarming moments of joy, warmth, and smiles captured while families cooked and shared a Nabe, and selected 10 entries as winners.

On March 11, 2023, the winning families were invited to an awards ceremony held at a hotel in Bangkok. The ceremony consisted of various events, including a Nabe cooking workshop, a talk show by guest judges, the announcement of winners and the awards ceremony, followed by a group photo with all participants. During the cooking workshop, Ms. Pitpilai, a guest culinary expert, guided the participants in preparing Mille-Feuille Nabe, a hot pot of layered Chinese cabbage and pork slices. The families enjoyed helping each other prepare the Nabe, from cutting the ingredients to layering these in a pot. Thereafter, they shared a precious moment of enjoying the hot pot together and talking about how delicious it tasted. The event was a great success, filled with bright smiles and laughter, just like those captured in the contest entries.

Furthermore, the winning family who received the prize of a “Japan Tour” visited Japan from May 13 through 16. During their stay, the family of four participated in a guided tour at the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum and enjoyed discovering the secrets of delicious Kikkoman Soy Sauce with all five senses.